One of the main reasons for introducing a new Box Office was to create a connection to hardware that was simpler to set up, faster, more reliable, and compatible with more devices. Direct Connected hardware to the rescue.

With Direct Connected Hardware:

• Setup is easier and requires no network knowledge
• Communication isn't affected by network issues
• USB, Bluetooth, or Network connected devices are all possible
• Devices perform faster
• Box Office is compatible with a wider array of hardware, including secure cash drawers, inexpensive receipt printers, scales for pay-by-weight, and more.
• You can still use the same Box Office app as a portable drop-in box office or a fixed-position, high-volume point of sale.
• Easier for sales agents to use

Connecting to hardware is a pretty boring topic; if there's one aspect of it that's rather special to Elevent it's that the Box Office remains a highly portable web app you can use anytime, anywhere on any operating system or modern browser. But now you can connect it to printers without involving your local network--box office now sees all your local printers.

The new Box Office and direct connection also improve the box office/concessions agent's use of the system. The point-of-sale will now do a better job remembering which devices that agent uses. It also heralds the ability to use distinct receipt printers, so now you have the choice to print both tickets and receipts on a ticket printer, on a receipt printer, or print tickets on a ticket printer and receipts on the receipt printer.

Directly-connected devices go beyond the Box Office and are also supported in Elevent's bulk printing tools--this includes bulk-printing tickets, the ticket layout editor, and the Custom Ticket Printing tool.

To direct connect devices, you'll need to:

• Install a local hardware tool we provide
• Install the device to your point-of-sale machine in the same way you'd install a printer at home--including local device drivers for most devices (so this method only works on PCs or Macs--tablets or smartphones don't have drivers)
• Choose the devices to use when you first log into the box office

Network-connected printers and other devices are still supported, so if you have your heart set on selling in one place and printing in another, you can still do that. Setting up network printers is a bit different in the new Box Office, so review the docs and plan on making the transition if you haven't already.

You can follow along step by step how to connect and configure printers in the new box office here.